[ EDITORIAL ]

Florida Highways: State Of Transport

Published: Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 12:11 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 12:11 a.m.

Florida and other states have followed similar paths on transportation — raiding trust funds, failing to adjust tax formulas and allowing the condition of infrastructure to deteriorate.

Federally, the nation's fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gas, has not been increased since 1993. Congress declined to raise the tax in June when it passed a two-year, stop-gap transportation plan for road, bridge and transit spending.

Instead, $18.8 billion in general taxpayer funds were allocated, in addition to fuel-tax revenue, to keep spending at current levels — about $52 billion a year — through 2014. At that point, without additional funding, the federal Highway Trust Fund is forecast to go broke.

It's not as though the United States has been a profligate spender on transportation. Building America's Future, a bipartisan organization, reported last year that the U.S. spends 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product on transportation infrastructure. In comparison, Canada spends 4 percent and China 9 percent.

What's worse, a 2012-2013 study by the World Economic Forum ranked the U.S. 25th internationally for infrastructure quality.

STUDIES, RECOMMENDATIONS

In Florida, an advisory council — comprised of executives and elected officials from the state's 26 metropolitan planning organizations — has proposed some ideas.

The MPOs prioritize transportation projects regionally and are most familiar with local needs.

The advisory council met for two years to study funding options and, in April, proposed — to the governor and Legislature — its top ideas for increasing revenue and efficiency in collections.

The MPOs estimate that transportation projects on the books in Florida are underfunded by $60 billion. The state spends about $6.5 billion annually on transportation. Without an infusion of revenue, Florida will never close that gap.

The council suggested indexing all state, county and municipal fuel taxes to the Consumer Price Index. This proposal makes sense because per-gallon taxes are inflexible.

The council recommended raising the State Highway Fuels Sales Tax from the current rate of 12.6 cents per gallon by 2 cents annually — for each of the next five years — and indexing the levy to account for inflation.

This is another sensible proposal, especially if part of the money replenishes the state transportation fund — $383 million of which was diverted to cover shortfalls in the general-revenue budget.

Transportation spending is, in short, good for the private sector and the economy.

With gas prices down and domestic production up, Florida and the federal government should act quickly.

<p>Florida and other states have followed similar paths on transportation — raiding trust funds, failing to adjust tax formulas and allowing the condition of infrastructure to deteriorate.</p><p>Federally, the nation's fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gas, has not been increased since 1993. Congress declined to raise the tax in June when it passed a two-year, stop-gap transportation plan for road, bridge and transit spending.</p><p>Instead, $18.8 billion in general taxpayer funds were allocated, in addition to fuel-tax revenue, to keep spending at current levels — about $52 billion a year — through 2014. At that point, without additional funding, the federal Highway Trust Fund is forecast to go broke.</p><p>It's not as though the United States has been a profligate spender on transportation. Building America's Future, a bipartisan organization, reported last year that the U.S. spends 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product on transportation infrastructure. In comparison, Canada spends 4 percent and China 9 percent.</p><p>What's worse, a 2012-2013 study by the World Economic Forum ranked the U.S. 25th internationally for infrastructure quality.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>STUDIES, RECOMMENDATIONS</strong></p><p>In Florida, an advisory council — comprised of executives and elected officials from the state's 26 metropolitan planning organizations — has proposed some ideas.</p><p>The MPOs prioritize transportation projects regionally and are most familiar with local needs.</p><p>The advisory council met for two years to study funding options and, in April, proposed — to the governor and Legislature — its top ideas for increasing revenue and efficiency in collections.</p><p>The MPOs estimate that transportation projects on the books in Florida are underfunded by $60 billion. The state spends about $6.5 billion annually on transportation. Without an infusion of revenue, Florida will never close that gap.</p><p>The council suggested indexing all state, county and municipal fuel taxes to the Consumer Price Index. This proposal makes sense because per-gallon taxes are inflexible.</p><p>The council recommended raising the State Highway Fuels Sales Tax from the current rate of 12.6 cents per gallon by 2 cents annually — for each of the next five years — and indexing the levy to account for inflation.</p><p>This is another sensible proposal, especially if part of the money replenishes the state transportation fund — $383 million of which was diverted to cover shortfalls in the general-revenue budget.</p><p>Transportation spending is, in short, good for the private sector and the economy.</p><p>With gas prices down and domestic production up, Florida and the federal government should act quickly.</p>